This Goddess religion is very similar in many ways to any other pilgrimage that we have studied. It has all of the aspects that they do and has some form of traveling involved. So I personally believe it is a pilgrimage and I still think that it is closely related to tourism.
It was definitely an interesting day in class since nobody really wanted to talk, but I still got something out of it and was able to further my education.
I just finished up reading the article about the Elvis Presley religion and it is very interesting to me that people can believe that a human that has passed away can fulfill their prayers and wishes. I think these people are just relating to themselves and the United States to Elvis’ life. They see he once was a very famous and popular guy and could influence any teenager girl out there. Then towards the end of his life he was losing control of his life and could not handle the pressure. This is happening to Americans daily and is occurring in America’s government and political system. I got that from the very last section of the article and I completely agree with it. I am looking forward to discussing it in class on Thursday.
Jack, that is a very interesting way of looking at it that I never thought of before. I could see how pilgrims worship and desire Elvis’s characteristics just because they wish they had some of them in their lives, like fame or to be influential to others. I can also see how pilgrims would often identify with him in their pain and loss of control with their lives as he suffered in his, as you and the article discuss. I believe that it could be very healing or comforting to an individual to know that they are not the only one with extreme struggles in their lives, and that even seemingly privileged people have problems as well.
I really enjoyed learning and analyzing if Elvis religion was a pilgrimage or not. I never really thought of Elvis being a religion, but it makes complete sense once you think about it. I think that the Elvis pilgrimage is similar to booth the Turner and Euade models. In the Euade model the axis munde is clearly the grave of Elvis, and the sacred center would be his bedroom. Relics would be things like his music or t-shirts and little figures like that. In the Turner model the limin would be the driveway up to his grave and house, and the communtias would be all the other people to worship him also. But I don’t really see how you can return as a changed person. If you are coming to Graceland you are clearly already an Elvis fan so not like that would change. I also thought it was funny learning about how and mostly where he died.